Brayden Willis-TE-Oklahoma, 7th Round, 2023 Draft

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:

Originally posted by Nastastical:

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
I wanted them to double dip and they did :-). I don't think he makes the roster initially, but you never know. I like the potential. Push both Woerner and Dwelley off the roster.

I think Woerner may be gone soon with these new additions. I think we carry 4 TE's, and that last spot will come down to Woerner or Willis. I think Dwelley has the support of the coaching staff, so he's probably safe... probably

I think if Willis and/or Latu come in showing they can handle the blocking assignments, Woerner is gone. I agree on carrying for, so Dwelley probably will stay.

Originally posted by Giedi:
Juszczyk 2.0

It was mentioned that you would line up on occasion at fullback. Is that accurate and how did that come to be?
"I really haven't played any fullback unless you count me being in the wing as a fullback in Oklahoma. I've been in the wing, I've been in the snip for a little bit just for specific run plays. Like I said, I can do it. I'm a football player, so it's not hard to pick up. I can do it, I'm good at it and I'll do whatever they want me to do. It just kind of came by me being versatile. I can do a lot of different things that football players can and that's kind of how it came about. I'm excited to be able to do a whole bunch of different things and be a chess piece they can use. I'm excited."

George Kittle gets this maniacal joy from blocking, from moving a man from point A to point B. On tape, you're a really good blocker as well. How would you characterize your passion for that physical part of the game?
"I really think you just said it. Moving another man from point A to point B without him wanting to be moved, I think that's the best feeling in the world. It's just as good as scoring a touchdown. When you're able to move someone against their will, it's the best feeling. The joy he gets from it, that's the same joy I get from it. It's the violent nature of the game and I think if you're a fan of the violent nature of the game, the physicality and everything, I think you get a joy out of that too. Like I said, I think we're both fans of the violent, physical nature of the game and that's why we love to do stuff like that."

You averaged 7.2 yards after catch. How excited are you to go to the 49ers and be with George Kittle, WR Deebo Samuel, RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Brandon Aiyuk who are known for their YAC?
"As my career has gone on in Oklahoma, I learned to do the yards after catch thing. Each practice, we did it. Caught the ball in practice and practiced my moves after the catch and everything. I'm excited to learn from all those guys because they're great in YAC. I'm excited to learn from all those guys, pick up some tips and tricks they have that made them so successful in college and in the league and just make me a better player. That's the biggest thing. I want to learn, I want to be a better player and I want to be able to contribute on a bigger scale. That's the biggest thing I'm excited for."

He is a TE all the way. Maybe we get a fullback next year. I'd love to see some three tight end sets in the redzone or just any team we can physically dominate.

Agreed. He even said he never played FB. He's a pure TE and a nasty one.

Originally posted by KiwiM3:
Kyle must fall in love watching this kind of blocking effort

One of my favorite late Day 3/UDFA players in this class is Oklahoma TE/FB Brayden Willis (No. 9)

6'3, 240 and he's a fantastic blocker.

No. 2 graded pass blocker in CFB by @PFF + No. 10 graded run blocker. pic.twitter.com/rrmlqnbeVT

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 31, 2022

He looked good playing fullback in that clip.

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by KiwiM3:
Kyle must fall in love watching this kind of blocking effort

One of my favorite late Day 3/UDFA players in this class is Oklahoma TE/FB Brayden Willis (No. 9)

6'3, 240 and he's a fantastic blocker.

No. 2 graded pass blocker in CFB by @PFF + No. 10 graded run blocker. pic.twitter.com/rrmlqnbeVT

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 31, 2022

He looked good playing fullback in that clip.

This is the only part we care about:

No. 2 graded pass blocker in CFB by @PFF

Willis>Latu

If he can be the Hurd who Shanahan was envisioning about, and if he can stay healthy throughout his career, wow! Please, let it happen. The good thing is we have a really good roster right now so we can afford to stash him, mold him, let him shadow Kittle, Juice, etc. Yeah, hopefully the stars are aligning in our favor.

Latu and Willis are both dawgs. Both are great blockers. Dwelley has not been consistent in this area, and really no one past Kittle has been consistent in this area either. Woerner is better at blocking than Dwelley, but he doesn't offer much in the receiving area.

The more I think about it, the more it seems like we got these two guys to replace Dwelley and Woerner.

Willis is built more like a thick receiver than a stereotypical tight end, but he is a far better athlete and blocker than Dwelley coming out. Aside from the blocking ability, while Latu isn't a top notch athlete, his game IQ, strong hands, and contact balance I think are big pluses the team liked on tape.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Latu and Willis are both dawgs. Both are great blockers. Dwelley has not been consistent in this area, and really no one past Kittle has been consistent in this area either. Woerner is better at blocking than Dwelley, but he doesn't offer much in the receiving area.

The more I think about it, the more it seems like we got these two guys to replace Dwelley and Woerner.

Willis is built more like a thick receiver than a stereotypical tight end, but he is a far better athlete and blocker than Dwelley coming out. Aside from the blocking ability, while Latu isn't a top notch athlete, his game IQ, strong hands, and contact balance I think are big pluses the team liked on tape.

Yeah i hope they both take Dwelley and Woerner's spots. We've seen enough of those two to know they are what they are.

Originally posted by illinois9er:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Latu and Willis are both dawgs. Both are great blockers. Dwelley has not been consistent in this area, and really no one past Kittle has been consistent in this area either. Woerner is better at blocking than Dwelley, but he doesn't offer much in the receiving area.

The more I think about it, the more it seems like we got these two guys to replace Dwelley and Woerner.

Willis is built more like a thick receiver than a stereotypical tight end, but he is a far better athlete and blocker than Dwelley coming out. Aside from the blocking ability, while Latu isn't a top notch athlete, his game IQ, strong hands, and contact balance I think are big pluses the team liked on tape.

Yeah i hope they both take Dwelley and Woerner's spots. We've seen enough of those two to know they are what they are.

Agreed.

Originally posted by Waterbear:
Willis>Latu

DOES this mean Shanny will be calling the Infamous " QB Breaker " often this season??

.. don't tell me he drafted " Wacha Talkin About " Willis to do one thing, and that's to run an end around to BLOCK that pass rusher ..

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Willis>Latu

More impressed with watching the Willis highlights than Latu.

Another gold helmet guy from Adam Peters and Co.

As noted above, the 49ers don't give out a lot of "gold helmet" designations each year. They had one gold-helmet player in 2020, offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, two the following season, Trey Lance and Hufanga, and none last season.

They had two this year as Willis also received that honor. Like Brown, he was a team captain whose competitive spirit leapt off the tape.

"We loved his run-after-the-catch (rate)," Peters said. "That was backed up by our R&D guys. He had the highest broken-tackle percentage of all the drafted tight ends."

Like others said…we knew they would like strange.

He agreed that Willis was similar to Penn State tight end Brenton Strange, who was picked in the second round, in that Oklahoma used him in a variety of ways, including out of the backfield as an H-back or fullback. But he noted that while Strange had the smallest wingspan of all the top tight ends this year, Willis' was nearly five inches longer.

"He had more value to us on the line of scrimmage than Brenton Strange did as a true Y tight end," Peters said. "(Willis) doesn't seem like he's that big when you look at him on tape. But he's 245 pounds with long arms. So he certainly has the size to do that. And he certainly has the mentality to be a physical player."

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Another gold helmet guy from Adam Peters and Co.

As noted above, the 49ers don't give out a lot of "gold helmet" designations each year. They had one gold-helmet player in 2020, offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, two the following season, Trey Lance and Hufanga, and none last season.

They had two this year as Willis also received that honor. Like Brown, he was a team captain whose competitive spirit leapt off the tape.

"We loved his run-after-the-catch (rate)," Peters said. "That was backed up by our R&D guys. He had the highest broken-tackle percentage of all the drafted tight ends."

Like others said…we knew they would like strange.

He agreed that Willis was similar to Penn State tight end Brenton Strange, who was picked in the second round, in that Oklahoma used him in a variety of ways, including out of the backfield as an H-back or fullback. But he noted that while Strange had the smallest wingspan of all the top tight ends this year, Willis' was nearly five inches longer.

"He had more value to us on the line of scrimmage than Brenton Strange did as a true Y tight end," Peters said. "(Willis) doesn't seem like he's that big when you look at him on tape. But he's 245 pounds with long arms. So he certainly has the size to do that. And he certainly has the mentality to be a physical player."

I wonder what made them pick Latu in the 3rd round and Willis later? Shouldn't it be the other way around if this dude was a gold helmet pick?

Originally posted by Alfienator:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Another gold helmet guy from Adam Peters and Co.

As noted above, the 49ers don't give out a lot of "gold helmet" designations each year. They had one gold-helmet player in 2020, offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, two the following season, Trey Lance and Hufanga, and none last season.

They had two this year as Willis also received that honor. Like Brown, he was a team captain whose competitive spirit leapt off the tape.

"We loved his run-after-the-catch (rate)," Peters said. "That was backed up by our R&D guys. He had the highest broken-tackle percentage of all the drafted tight ends."

Like others said…we knew they would like strange.

He agreed that Willis was similar to Penn State tight end Brenton Strange, who was picked in the second round, in that Oklahoma used him in a variety of ways, including out of the backfield as an H-back or fullback. But he noted that while Strange had the smallest wingspan of all the top tight ends this year, Willis' was nearly five inches longer.

"He had more value to us on the line of scrimmage than Brenton Strange did as a true Y tight end," Peters said. "(Willis) doesn't seem like he's that big when you look at him on tape. But he's 245 pounds with long arms. So he certainly has the size to do that. And he certainly has the mentality to be a physical player."

I wonder what made them pick Latu in the 3rd round and Willis later? Shouldn't it be the other way around if this dude was a gold helmet pick?

I'm assuming they knew they could get him much later than Latu.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Alfienator:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Another gold helmet guy from Adam Peters and Co.

As noted above, the 49ers don't give out a lot of "gold helmet" designations each year. They had one gold-helmet player in 2020, offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, two the following season, Trey Lance and Hufanga, and none last season.

They had two this year as Willis also received that honor. Like Brown, he was a team captain whose competitive spirit leapt off the tape.

"We loved his run-after-the-catch (rate)," Peters said. "That was backed up by our R&D guys. He had the highest broken-tackle percentage of all the drafted tight ends."

Like others said…we knew they would like strange.

He agreed that Willis was similar to Penn State tight end Brenton Strange, who was picked in the second round, in that Oklahoma used him in a variety of ways, including out of the backfield as an H-back or fullback. But he noted that while Strange had the smallest wingspan of all the top tight ends this year, Willis' was nearly five inches longer.

"He had more value to us on the line of scrimmage than Brenton Strange did as a true Y tight end," Peters said. "(Willis) doesn't seem like he's that big when you look at him on tape. But he's 245 pounds with long arms. So he certainly has the size to do that. And he certainly has the mentality to be a physical player."

I wonder what made them pick Latu in the 3rd round and Willis later? Shouldn't it be the other way around if this dude was a gold helmet pick?

I'm assuming they knew they could get him much later than Latu.

I swear both of you had my exact question and answer before I came to this thread and saw it

Got the Gold Helmet designation but we all know the Willis that made it possible